Call for U.S. action on Rotterdam Rules

Monday, February 18, 2013

The National Industrial Transportation League, World Shipping Council, and Maritime Law Association of the United States are calling on the State Department to review and approve the so-called Rotterdam Rules, an international maritime cargo liability convention signed by nearly two dozen countries back in 2009.
"We are quite concerned that the delay of more than three years after the United States signed the treaty is undermining international support for the treaty and is causing the international maritime community to doubt the United States’ intentions," said the Feb. 7 letter to Susan N. Biniaz, deputy legal adviser of international affairs at the State Department.
"Many of our colleagues in other countries have told us that their governments will not ratify unless and until the United States does so. Unless the United States demonstrates its support for the Rotterdam Rules, we risk losing a rare opportunity to modernize and harmonize this important area of international transport law. Transmittal of the treaty to the Senate is a needed demonstration of that support and of the treaty’s viability," the industry groups said. - Chris Dupin